As commonly known, vehicle seat systems are required to meet governmental and customer-specific performance requirements. Particularly, there exists governmental standards (e.g., federal motor vehicle safety standards (FMVSS)) that require vehicle seat systems to maintain specific levels of rigidity and flexibility to insure adequate occupant support and safety. For example, some governmental requirements require that the vehicle seat system be able to withstand certain loads applied to headrests and seatback sections of the seat. It is known, that the above referenced governmental standards have been heightened in effort to improve occupant safety.
Now, referring to FIG. 1, a prior art system is illustrated. The prior art seat system includes a seat having a headrest 2 and a seatback 4. Headrest 2 and seatback 4 are structurally supported by a seat foam 6 and a seat frame 8 for withstanding loads indicated by the arrows “L1” and “L2”. Seat foam 6 in combination with seat frame 8 provide occupant support and stability that is consistent with some governmental regulations. Some conventional vehicle seat systems also include an additional structural support that is disposed between seat foam 6 and seat frame 8 for meeting certain performance requirements. This structural support is typically formed of a steel or plastic material.
Although the conventional systems are capable of meeting certain performance requirements, there exists a wide horizon for improvement. Particularly, the conventional systems are costly and inefficient for manufacture. Additionally, the conventional structural support included on some systems adds undesirable weight and manufacturing time.
The present invention was conceived in view of these and other disadvantages of conventional vehicle seat systems.